There is a world of difference between holding on and letting go. Understandable, if you want to hold on to the good things in life, to embrace life itself. Who wants to let go of what is good (Mt 17:4)? That is one side. However, the reality is slightly different: we can’t hold on to anything. Being able to hold on would be a great thing, but in reality it doesn’t work.

We can’t hold on to childhood because we get older. We cannot hold on to life because we die once. Most people experience difficult things. We want to hold on to what is good, but we can’t do it in practice. This is neither dramatic nor avoidable. It is about unavoidable things and yet it is not about fatalism.

How we let things go and with what intention can shape our lives and therefore our well-being. Not having everything safely in your hands may be scary, but being able to let go for the right reasons can also be enriching. Perhaps such a letting go is not possible without mourning, not without tears, not without a feeling of loss. However, the art of letting go is an art that can be learned. Once we see the inevitable consequences of things that happen in our lives, we can consciously face up to change.

Security

People have different security needs. Some need a lot of security, such as a secure job, a secure income, a secure status in society, a favorable position in the church, a spotless reputation, a rivet-and-nail theology and a faith that is “right”.

Other people do not need such security. You may have learned to be frugal, like Paul (Phil 4:11). The need for security has adapted to reality or was never very pronounced. Different perceptions of this world are real. And last but not least, it is also true that no one is served by perpetuating hypocrisy. Anyone who misjudges themselves will benefit from a correction. This liberates and releases energy for a better future. (Comparable to the saying: “Once your reputation is ruined, you can live carefree afterwards.”)

There is a difference between a spasmodic effort to hold on to things and a need for security that does not see this security in one’s own efforts. We are talking about the latter here.

Orthodoxy as false security

Religious behavior prides itself on its supposed knowledge of what is right. Almost idolatrously, they define “black versus white”, recognize “right teaching versus wrong teaching” and are not afraid to tell people what is acceptable and what is not. Such moralizing ideas are widespread. It is what religion produces. Legal ideas are suitable for the masses and often establish power structures. Rigid beliefs and ideas about life are the result.

This kind of thinking thrives in communities that insist on the conformity of doctrine instead of a lively examination of life and faith. Orthodoxy in communities leads to sectarian thinking and to the exclusion of people who dare to ask serious questions.

The intention behind this behavior may, of course, be to maintain power. But it can also mean a false sense of security. Then it would be the assumption that only the preservation of the supposedly correct doctrine leads to the future and that a critical and self-critical debate merely distracts from this.

The problem with this kind of thinking is not only the self-righteous and often arrogant attitude towards others, but also the fundamental assumption that everything depends on people. This kind of thinking is anthropocentric.

Good news

Gospel, or “good news”, often also translated as “glad tidings”, speaks differently. The good news of God’s grace is not about me or you, but about God himself. The good news is that God has done and will do something. That makes me happy because it doesn’t depend on myself.

So anyone seeking security through their own efforts is ill-served by the gospel. Grace is the end of all self-righteousness and orthodoxy in favor of trust in God himself. Good news wants to be good for you and me, but does not lay down burdens. The good news of God’s grace virtually frees you from demands.

Here is the real juxtaposition of good news and threatening news: Hell preaching is a threatening message that is not supported by the Bible. This has already been examined in detail on this website. Grace, on the other hand, is a good news message that frees us from self-righteous effort and trusts in God’s work for salvation. In a hell message, man must save himself through his faith, whereas Paul declares that God is a savior of all men, mostly – but not exclusively – of believers (1 Tim 4:9-11). “Command and teach this,” the apostle adds.

It is good news when everything is no longer dependent on me. That frees you. People give thanks to God and faith and trust in this God arise. However, anyone who makes everything dependent on man, as many teachings do, will inevitably be disappointed by imperfect man. This gives rise to unbelief and self-righteousness.

Let go

Those who live by grace can let go. He doesn’t have to be right, doesn’t insist on his knowledge and doesn’t want to heresy or exclude others. Those who live by grace live inclusively, not exclusively.

Those who live by grace live inclusively, not exclusively.

There are no human advantages if I live by grace. That is why grace is not attractive for self-righteous life plans. Affirming and accepting God’s grace is the end of human self-righteousness. It is a farewell to know-it-all attitudes, to arrogant denunciations of others. Those who live by grace know about the undeserved favor of God and will also grant it to other people.

Those who live by grace can rest in Christ, as Paul writes:

“I myself do not care in the least that I am being investigated by you or by the Day of Man. Nor do I examine myself, because I am not aware of any (guilt); yet I am not justified by it. But the one who investigates me is the Lord!”
1Cor 4,3-4

Paul no longer has to justify himself. He preaches grace. He lives from this. Because he lives by grace, he trusts God’s performance more than his own. He doesn’t have to fool anyone and he is not affected by accusations directed at him. He has his faith before God (Rom 14:22). He doesn’t have to prove anything. He testifies to grace and lives out grace.

Paul learned to let go by trusting in his God. Orthodoxy, on the other hand, does not trust in God, but is merciless to others and sometimes even to itself. The self-righteous need no mercy.

The art of letting go is practiced where you leave everything to God. If I live by grace, I can leave everything to Him. This frees my life from a huge burden. You can give in to your own fear, but still trust a far greater God. I hear an expression of such trust in the statement: “You can never fall deeper than into God’s hands”. You can also counter your own insecurity by consciously focusing on God’s grace. The saying is well-known: “Giving thanks protects you from wavering”. It contains wisdom of life and faith. It is not “my thinking” that protects, but “my giving thanks”. Gratitude for God’s grace in the here and now.

The art of letting go

Letting go is an art. It does not come naturally, but needs to be practiced. The art of letting go arises when you allow yourself to let go. You can let go by trusting God. More trust in God allows us to let go more.

The art of letting go can shape life and faith. Letting go allows for a larger living space. Those who live out of fear and religious beliefs often insist on holding on to certain opinions, teachings and things. That is the opposite of letting go. However, because we can hold on to little at the same time, the space for life and faith is limited.

If, on the other hand, we learn to trust in God and live by grace, rigidity is replaced by a zest for life. This can be frightening at first, because the world seems much bigger than initially assumed. However, letting go makes the world bigger and it is safer to move around in this larger world. It’s safer because I trust my God in this bigger world.

Grace therefore paves the way to a liberated life and to an appreciation of this world as God’s world. Letting go, whether in relationships, work, health, old assumptions, leads over into a lived trust in God’s work.

As a Christian, I live in this world, not because I know everything better, but because I live in trust in God. This trust in God is nourished and strengthened by the Bible. The grace that I learn from this leads me out into freedom. The confidence in a good outcome to this world story encourages me to consciously leave everything in God’s hands. He’s probably doing it. Christ is the key to this. He is the Son of God’s love, through whom God reconciles all things to himself (Col 1:13-20). We are also in good hands and can confidently bid farewell to our own achievements.